<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">FYI, for us and our students.<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature"><div dir="ltr">Chris Nusbaum<div>CAN Access Solutions</div><div>(443) 487-6262</div><div>canaccesssolutions@gmail.com</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> "David Goldfield via groups.io" <david.goldfield=outlook.com@groups.io><br><b>Date:</b> September 18, 2025 at 4:32:30\u202fPM EDT<br><b>To:</b> Tech-VI Announcement List <tech-vi@groups.io><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[Tech-VI] From AppleVis: A Warning to Blind, DeafBlind, and Low Vision Users About Potential Loss of VoiceOver Speech in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> tech-vi@groups.io<br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">\ufeff
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><a href="https://www.applevis.com/blog/warning-blind-deafblind-low-vision-users-about-potential-loss-voiceover-speech-ios-26-ipados">Original Source</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<h1 style="line-height:54.0pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0B0D0F;letter-spacing:-.1pt">A Warning to Blind, DeafBlind, and Low Vision Users About Potential Loss of VoiceOver Speech in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p style="line-height:13.5pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#5F7581">By <a href="https://www.applevis.com/users/applevis" title="View user profile."><b><span style="color:#0000C2">AppleVis</span></b></a>,
18 September, 2025<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Rectangle_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team" style='width:24pt;height:24pt;visibility:visible;mso-left-percent:-10001;mso-top-percent:-10001;mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:char;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:line;mso-left-percent:-10001;mso-top-percent:-10001'>
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<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box"><span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">On occasions, blind, DeafBlind, and low vision users may lose VoiceOver speech after updating to iOS 26; either immediately after the update installs
or upon a subsequent reboot of the device. If you use VoiceOver and have not already done so, we recommend that you <strong><span style="font-family:Lora">do not</span></strong> install iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 until Apple resolves this issue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">At the outset, we must stress that the issue discussed in this post is not something that members of the AppleVis Editorial Team have personally experienced, and our understanding of the full nature and scope is
limited. This issue also does not occur for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">It is AppleVis' general practice to not post about issues that our team cannot personally validate; however, due to the seriousness and <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195382#comment-195382"><span style="color:#0000C2">documented</span></a> <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195385#comment-195385"><span style="color:#0000C2">impacts</span></a> for
blind, DeafBlind, and low vision users, we feel that to not raise awareness of this issue would be doing a tremendous disservice to our community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">Shortly after the releases of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, we began receiving reports from the community from users who experienced a loss of VoiceOver speech--either immediately upon installing the update, or after rebooting
the device at a point in the future. From what we have gathered, this issue appears to present itself only while on the Lock Screen after a device restart, and it has so far only been reported on devices that are passcode-protected.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">When the issue occurs, impacted users report that there is no VoiceOver speech and that <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195408#comment-195408"><span style="color:#0000C2">Siri is also unusable.</span></a> We
hypothesize that inability to use Siri is tied to the device being locked and requiring a passcode upon first restart, as this was the case on a properly-functioning device we tested.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">There are multiple reported manifestations of this issue. While some reports have been from users who <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195385#comment-195385"><span style="color:#0000C2">experienced a loss
of speech immediately upon installing the iOS 26 update,</span></a> multiple users have also reported that the issue <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195599#comment-195599"><span style="color:#0000C2">presents itself only after the device is rebooted
after a period of time;</span></a> suggesting that perhaps the underlying issue may be with something unrelated to the update process. One user <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195615#comment-195615"><span style="color:#0000C2">reported that VoiceOver
was turned off</span></a> upon installing the iPadOS 26 update on their M1 iPad Pro.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">Once the device is unlocked, impacted users report that VoiceOver speech works normally. We are not aware of any reports of this issue occurring more than once for a particular user.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">While we believe the reach of this issue is somewhat limited, it is nonetheless incredibly serious. As just one example of the impact of this issue, a member of our community <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195549#comment-195549"><span style="color:#0000C2">shared</span></a> how
their iPhone 15 became unusable upon rebooting some time after installing iOS 26, with <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195605#comment-195605"><span style="color:#0000C2">all attempts at troubleshooting being unsuccessful.</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">As the issue appears to resolve upon unlocking one's device, it is possible that <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195638#comment-195638"><span style="color:#0000C2">disabling one's passcode and biometrics
in advance</span></a> may allow a user to bypass the lock screen and get to a point where VoiceOver works normally. The only other confirmed solutions have been (1) obtaining sighted assistance to unlock the device, or (2) absent sighted assistance, <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195606#comment-195606"><span style="color:#0000C2">erasing
the device with Find My</span></a> and/or <a href="https://www.applevis.com/comment/195459#comment-195459"><span style="color:#0000C2">via a computer.</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-block: 36px 0px">
<span style="font-family:Lora;color:#2B353B">Apple is aware of these reports and is investigating. We recommend that users <strong><span style="font-family:Lora">do not</span></strong> update to iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 until this issue is resolved. We call on Apple
to uphold their long-standing commitment to accessibility for their blind, DeafBlind, and low vision customers by prioritizing and releasing a fix for this issue as a matter of great urgency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="line-height:27.0pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;font-size:1.5rem;margin-block: 36px">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0B0D0F"><o:p> </o:p></span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">David Goldfield,<span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.davidgoldfield.com/"><span style="color:#0563C1">www.DavidGoldfield.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Blazie Technologies<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.blazietech.com/"><span style="color:#0563C1">www.BlazieTech.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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